Owen to Villa talk intensifies

Gerard Houllier has not ruled out the possibility of luring Manchester United striker Michael Owen to Aston Villa.

The Frenchman, who worked with the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle United star at Anfield, will officially begin work at Villa Park next week, after being confirmed as the permanent successor to Martin O'Neill.

"He has always been in my thoughts," Houllier told Canal+. "I like him (Owen ), as a player and a man.

"I went to Liverpool on September 4 for Jamie Carragher's testimonial and I saw Michael play a half of football. He still has the legs for it."

Meanwhile, Owen has hinted that he would welcome the chance to leave Old Trafford.

The 30-year-old, who has not started a Premier League or Champions League match since January, admitted: "You can only do your best and prepare and train well, so that you're ready when the manager calls on you. After that, it's up to the manager who he chooses.

"It sounds easy, but probably the most difficult thing is not playing for a couple of weeks and then all of a sudden getting called up and being mentally and physically right to perform well.

"At the end of the season, I'll look and think, 'Was I happy with the amount of games I was available for? Did I score enough goals in the games when I played?' and 'Did I play well enough in those games?'

"You look at highlights of the season, did we win anything, things like that. But I wouldn't put any goal or appearance totals out there because, at a club like this, you never know when the manager is going to use you."